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Kristen
Test
22859 Posts |
 Posted - 2010-03-05 : 14:24:18
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Right! I'm all packed for the off.Its been a stressful week. Child-1's school team won the regional finals end of last year, which got them through to the National finals ... Kudos and all that ... but having to stick at that sport for 3 months (current semester is a different sport) just for the National finals has been hard for them (and the other contestants too ... daft system), and the coach didn't manage to motivate the team - for no doubt Perm N-from-M reasons - so they played crap in the two day tournament (Monday/Tuesday), so I'm lumbered with trying to tell Child-1 "You were honoured to be in the national Finals and telling your grandchildren about it will be something that very few people get the chance to say" ... which all fell on deaf ears, as I am sure you can imagine. Whole team gutted, but Hey! that's a life-lesson.But that wasn't my point ...Child-2's team has had a great season (Spring-sport rather than Autumn-sport, are you keeping up at the back?!). She's a lot younger, so team-performance is much more variable, and less reliable. Anyway, big local Tournament (this is Wednesday now ...) ... guess what? they played crap too ... so another dejected kid to "mother".But that wasn't my point either ...Move to Thursday. Client meeting. They moved from us to the "really big player" in the market sector. We were pleased that we had got them from 0% market presence to sufficient that they needed to move on. But for 2 years they have had a completely crap experience with the "really big player". They thought we were bad (as all clients do, whether reasonable or not) ... and only by moving have realised that some of the issues were their's, and that our "bad performance" was minuscule compared to what they could expect elsewhere. I feel sorry for them, albeit miffed that we lost the business in the first place.Great quote from their IT guy: Director: "What bug tracking system do you use?" before I could answer their IT guy said "Why do they need a bug tracking system? its XXXXX who needed a bug tracking system" [:)} Thanks mate! I'll buy the first round ...So now they want us to take it all back inhouse again. 4 brands, we have until August to migrate the lot. Its in the realms of impossible, and we will only do it if the sticker-price makes it worth our while. The upshot was "we have no time to waste, start work immediately and we'll pay all your costs if we fail to agree terms". That is as generous a "we should have stuck with you" endorsement as I could hope for. I'm quietly chuffed.However, we are in final stage of completion of a 2 year build of "next version". Two months to go. So now we will have to bring contractors in to finish that. What's the quote about the mythical-man-month and not adding new staff in the final stages? Ho!Hum!That is my point ... but ...Move to Friday. I've been doing some good-will work for a non-profit organisation locally. I have been asked to provide a proposal for a new system on 4 separate occasions over the last 2 - 3 years. On all occasions I never had a reply (I mean not even a reply to my email)  - even after consultants were bought in to sort out the mess (my "What's happened" was answered with "Consultant wants a meeting and will get back to you in a few days" - which turned into Ziltch  So this week the new system they commissioned (elsewhere) went live - they asked me to look at a preview last Friday, but I didn't find time until Tuesday. Unbelievable! Looks very nice, visually, but all the things we get the office-junior to double check before Go Live were incompletely implemented. A mess beyond belief Turns out a whole load of the people in the organisation have given serious grief to the top brass about how I have been treated, and so they turned out the topest-of-top-brass today to make a very honest and sincere apology (which isn't the point really, because all I wanted was that they got a decent system to improve their organisation; but it rankles that if they had taken up my offer of help the absolute howling issues would never have arisen).So I suppose I should take comfort in that ... but I still feel "what a waste of time and what could have been ..."Are you still awake at the back??!!So I'm off for a bit, or even possible a "long", to enjoy the stress of trying to achieve the impossible.I'll monitor threads I have replied to for a few days, send me a PM if you want to contact me, otherwise make sure you put another 20,000 posts on your count, each, before I get back, OK?!Love to all .... xxx |
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DonAtWork
Master Smack Fu Yak Hacker
2167 Posts |
Posted - 2010-03-08 : 09:28:23
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Sounds like you got some vindication of all your concerns that fell on deaf ears. That always gives me a warm fuzzy.  http://weblogs.sqlteam.com/jeffs/archive/2008/05/13/question-needed-not-answer.aspxHow to ask: http://weblogs.sqlteam.com/brettk/archive/2005/05/25/5276.aspxFor ultra basic questions, follow these links.http://www.sql-tutorial.net/ http://www.firstsql.com/tutor.htm http://www.w3schools.com/sql/default.asp |
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JimL
SQL Slinging Yak Ranger
1537 Posts |
Posted - 2010-03-08 : 10:42:13
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| Personally I beleve the best vindication is a larger paycheck.Guess we all waiting for those.JimUsers <> Logic |
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russell
Pyro-ma-ni-yak
5072 Posts |
Posted - 2010-03-08 : 11:51:54
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| Wow, sounds like you could really use this break! Safe travels and have a great time. |
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Kristen
Test
22859 Posts |
Posted - 2010-03-08 : 13:25:25
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| Ah ... maybe I overdid the irony a bit ... the only break is from SQL Team ... the real world and work are intruding ... |
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elwoos
Master Smack Fu Yak Hacker
2052 Posts |
Posted - 2010-03-09 : 12:29:03
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I have the complete solution for a Kristen bot [url]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Roderick-John-Sladek/dp/1585675873/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268155545&sr=8-1[/url]  -----------Deja Moo - The feeling you've heard the same bull before. |
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Kristen
Test
22859 Posts |
Posted - 2010-03-09 : 12:49:46
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| "bullied at school, diagnosed as mentally unstable for saying he's a robot, forever in trouble for applying logic to religion..."Clearly nothing like me!"Hello Dali" the musical; a book on fishing titles "You Can Master Bait"; ... "the Joan of Arc-welding"priceless!Have you read it? if rated I will get myself a copy ... or a ghost writer robot |
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elwoos
Master Smack Fu Yak Hacker
2052 Posts |
Posted - 2010-03-10 : 08:45:32
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| Yes I have read it. It's brilliant as is all his work imo, though he wasn't what you would call prolific. It's one of my favourite books ever, that and The Businessman a tale of terror by Thomas Disch.As you have probably guessed it is what you might call dark humour.-----------Deja Moo - The feeling you've heard the same bull before. |
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Off on vacation ...